Former India cricketer Saba Karim believes that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 76 off 26 for Rajasthan Royals (RR) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Barsapara Stadium on Friday marked the beginning of his ‘era’. Karim lauded Sooryavanshi’s adaptability to different matchups and also to the match situation.
Sooryavanshi, just 15, has the Orange Cap in IPL 2026 and is already getting shouts of being the best T20 player in the world. He started last year in the IPL with a record 35-ball century and has since, scarily, only gotten better, growing in confidence and adding the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and RCB’s Josh Hazlewood to the list of great bowlers who have looked out of sorts against him.
“This was an astounding display,” Karim said on
Star Sports. “It feels like the era of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has just begun, and it’s a pleasure to watch him bat. There is an abundance of talent, combined with confident stroke play and a mature approach. He looked equally comfortable against pace and quality spin, with shots all around the wicket. It also seemed like he was building towards a hundred after his aggressive start in the Powerplay. He began rotating the strike and looking for singles. Unfortunately, it didn’t materialise, but it reflects a very sound mindset.”
Sooryavanshi was well-supported by Dhruv Jurel’s 81 (43) from the other end as the Royals chased down 202 in just 18 overs.
“It was a very good innings from Dhruv Jurel.” JioStar expert Sanjay Bangar said on the same show. “RCB tried to bowl slightly wider to him, especially since in the last match he had scored nearly 80% of his runs on the onside. However, he was equally strong on the offside, which shows there are very few areas where you can contain a batter like him in this format. It was a fantastic batting display.”
